Finger guard



29; 1940- w. siavm I ;2,219 ,44 6

' 7 FINGER GUARD Filed larch 17, 1939 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct '29, 1940 UNITED- STATES, PATENT I OFFICE first... Application M 17, 1939, St!!! N9. 282,335

lOla-ims.

This invention relates to finger guards and more particularly to finger guards for use in connection with decoration of the finger nails.

Objects The objects of the invention are to provide a guard which will protect the skin adjoining a vantages and results asmay be brought out in the following description.

I a D wi 7 Figure 1 is an extended face view of the blank from which thefinger guard of the preferred form of the invention is formed;

Figure2 is a top view of the formed finger guard; t v

Figure 3 and Figure 4 are sectional views on line3-3 and. 4-4 respectively of Figure 2; w Figure 51s a longitudinal sectional view similar to Figure 3 and showing a modified construction;

Figure 6 is a sectional view on line 6- of Figure 5; and a Figure I is a longitudinal sectional view similar to'Figures 3 and 5 and showing still anothe modified construction.

4 numeral- 10 indicates a body portion of material from one end of which is bent a spring tongue I I and fromthe side of which as an integral part of the body portion are bent side members l2, I! with the said tongue lying for most part between said side members but out of contact therefrom. As here shown, the side members project upwardly from the body portion l0 and slope somewhat inwardly toward each other for the major portion of each, and provide narrow lips l3, I3 at their upper edges which are directed toward each other but spaced apart approximately the width of a person's finger nail. Viewing the structure in plan so as to look downwardly through the opening between opposed lips l3, IS, the said tongue II will be seen below the open- Description In theyspecific embodiment of the invention,

(Cl. 132-1'l ing, said tongue preferably being relatively wide and smooth so as to be comfortable to the user when the finger rests thereupon and likewise to have an appropriate inherent resiliency sufficient to retain the device frictionally upon the finger when applied thereto. As here shown, the inwardly directed lips l3, l3 have their inner edges curled so as to avoid any cutting or raw edge where the device engages the skin at the sides of the users nail. It will be appreciated that the material employed for constructing the guard may be any desirable material and when constructed of thin resilient sheet metal, the curling of the edges of lips i3, I3 adds no undesirable thickness, the drawing necessarily being considerably exfiggerated. Actually, the edges in use are thin enough to be quite sharp but not sharp enough to cut the slcln.

The preferred construction of Figures 1 to 4 is such that it -may be used at either end and the inwardly directed fingers at one end of the device are, closer together than at the other end of the device. The end having the lips spaced further apart is readily usable on the larger fingers of a person's hand, whereas the other end plan and also slope withrespect to the tongue so the distance from the lips tothe tongue narrows progressively toward the middle of the gage as viewed in longitudinal section of Figure 3. The users finger l4, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, may therefore be wedged between the tongue and lips and the slope or taper of the lips will conform to the natural taper of the finger nail so that the lips engage along the side of the finger nail in the hollow of the flesh immediately adjacent the finger nail and thus the entire finger nail will be exposed through the opening between the said lips. The spring pressure on tongue H applies adequate resiliency both for enabling the finger to be pushed into place and for frictionally retaining the guard upon the finger when once placed and-until positively drawn off again.

It will be understood in use, that the' finger with the nail to be decorated is slid into place and the guard remains on the finger without any further effort on the part of the user so the other hand sively'widens toward the middle of the gage in of the user is free to apply the desired decoration. The present practice is to employ a coloring compound which dries quickly and by virtue of my guard, will be kept from getting onto the skin adjacent the nail during application. As soon as the coloring material is applied, the guard can be drawn from the finger without any likelihood of transmitting coloring to the adjacent skin since the guard is to be drawn from the finger in a longitudinal direction. It can then be immediately placed on the next finger and the operation repeated.

If so desired, a guard may be provided of only a .single size for all fingers, such as shown in Figures 5 and 6, relying entirely upon-the resiliency of the side walls II to enable the inturned lips It to spread from the necessary opening for the smallest finger to the necessary opening for the largest finger of a persons hand. In this instance, tongue H is shown as stamped from the portion of body I directly beneath the openingbetween the fingers rather than formed as an extension of metal beyond the body portion as illustrated in Figure 1. In either event, the tongue is given a position in the formed structure so as to extend between the side walls of the guard and underlie the opening between the nail engaging lips. Both Figures 4 and 8 have been shown in full lines in normal position and the side walls have been shown in dotted line in sprung position which they assume when forced in place upon a finger.

It is furthermore within the scope of the invention to provide other than inherent resiliency of the metal for obtaining the desired pressure of the tongue against the finger. By way of iilustration, I have shown in Figure 7 a body portion I! from the sides of which are bent up side walls It having inwardly directed lips corresponding in structure and arrangement to side walls and lips l2 and II heretofore described.

A tongue l8 separately formed from the body' portion ili is shown extending longitudinally between side walls and movable with respect thereto. Springs l9 are positioned between the body portion l and said tongue l8 for pressing the tongue upwardly toward the opening between the opposed lips l1, l1. These springs may be attached at their ends to the tongue and body portion respectively or the tongue otherwise retained assembled with respect to the body portion and side walls and lips. The necessary resiliency for enabling the user's finger to depress the tongue is thus obtained by springs I9, I! and the device is otherwise the same as to function and as to use, as described in connection with the preceding embodiments.

Obviously other detail changes and modifica- Y tions may be made in the construction and use of my improved finger guard, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise structures shown or described except as set forth in the following claims when construed in the light of the prior art. it being emphasized that the present structure is not one for protecting any part of the finger nail nor intended for use in applying any special design on a finger nail, but is primarily a structure for preventing coloring getting onto the skin adjacent a finger nail while the finger nail is being colored.

I claim:

1. A finger guard with open ends having lips for frictionally engaging next the longitudinal edges of finger nails,-said guard having a space between said lips upwardly open for exposing the entire finger nail of the finger to which the guard is applied thereby enabling the entire nail to be colored while the guard is in place and the skin protected next the side edges of the nail.

2, A finger guard with open ends having lips for frictionally engaging next the longitudinal edges of finger nails, said guard having a space between said lips upwardly open fox-exposing the entire finger nafl of the finger to which the guard is applied thereby enabling the entire nail to be colored while the guard is in place and the skin protected next the side edges of the nail, and resilient means for applying a frictional pressure for retaining the guard in place during use.

' 3. A finger guard with open ends having lips for frictionally enga ing next the longitudinal edges of finger nails, said lips providing a wider space therebetween next one end of the guard than at the other end and said lips tapering to be further apart at the middle of the guard than next the ends thereof whereby either end of the guard may beapplied to a finger by insertion of the finger longitudinally of the guard from either end thereof and with the nail of the finger exposed between the tapering lips of the guard.

4. A finger guard comprising a body portion having an end extension integral therewith and bent backwardly over the body portion to provide a resilient finger-engaging tongue, said body portion having side members bent upwardly therefrom at opposite sides of said tongue to include the tongue therebetween, said side members having inwardly directed lips at the upper edges thereof.

5. A finger guard comprising a body portion having a tongue stamped out of a mid-portion of the body'portion between the sides and ends thereof and offset from the body portion for providing a resilient finger-engaging tongue, said body portion having side members bent upwardly therefrom at oppositesides of said tongue to include the tongue therebetween, said side mem-. bers having inwardly directed lips at the upper edges thereof.

6. A finger guard comprising a body portion having side members extending upwardly therefrom and bent inwardly for providing spaced lips at the opposed upper edges thereof, a tongue extending longitudinally of and between said side members, and resilient means between said tongue and body portion for pressing said tongue resiliently in the direction of said lips.

RICHARD W. GIRVIN. 

